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Is Any Opinion More Valid Than Any Other?

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Hi. For the longest time, when it comes to fact vs. opinion, I get confused. This is possibly due to my autism. I've seen many reviews on That Guy With The Glasses and I start to think that my opinion means nothing with the way they express their views. it could just be their characters and not their actual selves, but I still feel threatened when their fan bases blindly adopt their views as their own. I think of my opinion and pretty much everything I do and have as useless because I have a disability. I like mainstream shounen anime, but many intellectuals (I think mainly of a certain man on this board) want Toriyama, Oda, Kishimoto, Kubo, Mashima and many other manga creators to drop dead simultaneously, and they'd laugh their butts off. Is my opinion worth anything and are the views of critics somehow superior to the views of other people?

I neither read reviews to have a critic dictate what I watch nor to simply find affirmation for my opinions. I read reviews for insight and for some guidance on what to watch, and/or if I want to see something ASAP. An opinion is only as good as the reasoning backing it up, no matter who it comes from. Good critics deserve respect and serious engagement, but never blind loyalty or bandwagon sentiment. I'm a strong admirer of Roger Ebert and I certainly don't agree with his take on everything.

The thing to remember about parody reviews is that they tend to exaggerate or focus overmuch on flaws or funny details to be entertaining. So, you have to consider what they say in that context unless that person isn't playing their character.

I would suggest that it's not the medium, but the quality of perception and expression, that determines the significance of art. But what would a cartoonist know? -Bill Watterson
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Hi. For the longest time, when it comes to fact vs. opinion, I get confused. This is possibly due to my autism. I've seen many reviews on That Guy With The Glasses and I start to think that my opinion means nothing with the way they express their views. it could just be their characters and not their actual selves, but I still feel threatened when their fan bases blindly adopt their views as their own. like mainstream shounen anime, but many intellectuals (I think mainly of a certain man on this board) want Toriyama, Oda, Kishimoto, Kubo, Mashima and many other manga creators to drop dead simultaneously, and they'd laugh their butts off. Is my opinion worth anything and are the views of critics somehow superior to the views of other people?

This is a favorite quote of mine from a Shonen manga: "You shouldn't rely on others to help you determine what's good and what's bad. In no time at all, you'll just simply be under someone else’s control."

It doesn't matter if you have the highest IQ on the planet or the lowest, when it comes to judging the quality of media; music, art, videogames, books, movies etc, no opinion is greater than any other. The opinion of a popular and well respected critic who believes Citizen Kane is the greatest movie ever is as equally valid as the John Doe who believes Trolls 2 is the greatest movie ever.

I think of my opinion and pretty much everything I do and have as useless because I have a disability.

I thought the same of myself for a long time but later I learned that having a disability or an unpopular viewpoint or not being good at certain things doesn't make someone inferior or thier opinions worthless. My personal belief is that the only worthless opinions are those that cause harm to others. Opnions based on hubris, bigotry, injustice, greed, and complete apathy towards the plight of innocent people.

This is a favorite quote of mine from a Shonen manga: "You shouldn't rely on others to help you determine what's good and what's bad. In no time at all, you'll just simply be under someone else’s control."

It doesn't matter if you have the highest IQ on the planet or the lowest, when it comes to judging the quality of media; music, art, videogames, books, movies etc, no opinion is greater than any other. The opinion of a popular and well respected critic who believes Citizen Kane is the greatest movie ever is as equally valid as the John Doe who believes Trolls 2 is the greatest movie ever.

I thought the same of myself for a long time but later I learned that having a disability or an unpopular viewpoint or not being good at certain things doesn't make someone inferior or thier opinions worthless. My personal belief is that the only worthless opinions are those that cause harm to others. Opnions based on hubris, bigotry, injustice, greed, and complete apathy towards the plight of innocent people.

This is a favorite quote of mine from a Shonen manga: "You shouldn't rely on others to help you determine what's good and what's bad. In no time at all, you'll just simply be under someone else’s control."

It doesn't matter if you have the highest IQ on the planet or the lowest, when it comes to judging the quality of media; music, art, videogames, books, movies etc, no opinion is greater than any other. The opinion of a popular and well respected critic who believes Citizen Kane is the greatest movie ever is as equally valid as the John Doe who believes Trolls 2 is the greatest movie ever.

I understand it's just manga line, but I think taking it too seriously is a mistake. Sometimes you are unfamiliar with a topic or the topic is complicated enough that it would require a great deal of study to truly understand. In such cases learning what others think can help you determine what's good and what's bad. Even with media, take your Citizen Kane example. An experienced person or someone who has studied a great deal about movies can point out things that could enrich your own movie going experience. Things that you might never have seen on your own. Finally, whether or not you like something may not necessarily correlate with that something being "good."

I understand it's just manga line, but I think taking it too seriously is a mistake. Sometimes you are unfamiliar with a topic or the topic is complicated enough that it would require a great deal of study to truly understand. In such cases learning what others think can help you determine what's good and what's bad. Even with media, take your Citizen Kane example. An experienced person or someone who has studied a great deal about movies can point out things that could enrich your own movie going experience. Things that you might never have seen on your own. Finally, whether or not you like something may not necessarily correlate with that something being "good."

I had a feeling this would be brought up so apologizes for not elaborating more the first time around. The full context of the quote in question was one part social commentary on sheeple and one part reinforcement of the idea that one man's trash is another man’s treasure.

I had a feeling this would be brought up so apologizes for not elaborating more the first time around. The full context of the quote in question was one part social commentary on sheeple and one part reinforcement of the idea that one man's trash is another man’s treasure.